About VPN Grader

VPN Grader is an independent directory of consumer VPN services. It does not sell a VPN of its own.

How a provider gets listed

A listing is a VPN service that sells to, or gives its app to, ordinary consumers, checked on its own website before it is added. Review sites and comparison pages are left out: they rank other providers rather than selling you a connection. One provider gets one entry, placed in every category its own pages support, so a service with apps for five platforms and a streaming pitch appears under each of them with the same write-up behind it.

Category membership needs evidence from the provider itself. A service joins open source because it says its own app code is published, not because it uses WireGuard. It joins the platform categories because its site names an app for that platform, and it joins privacy-first VPNs because it names an auditor, offers an account without an email address, or describes multi-hop routing.

How the write-ups are written

Every write-up is built from the provider's own pages: its pricing and refund terms, its logging and privacy policies, its about and legal pages, its feature lists, and the audit reports or audit announcements it publishes. When a provider names an audit, the write-up says which firm, when, and what the provider says it covered. When it names none, the write-up says so. Prices and features change, so check the current terms on the provider's site before you buy.

How grades are assigned

Each listing carries a letter grade from A+ to F. It is worked out from five things, in this order of weight: a named outside audit of the logging policy or the servers, the detail of the logging policy, who owns the company and where it is based, how clearly the price and renewal price are stated, and which protocols, apps and safeguards the provider states plainly. Anything a provider leaves unstated counts against it. The grades describe what each provider publishes. They are not the result of our own testing, and they do not measure speed or whether a given streaming service works today.

How listings are ordered

Within a category, listings are ordered by a score that combines how often readers click through to a provider, how widely visited the provider's own site is, and a small editorial weight. The letter grade is shown on every listing but does not set the order. Star ratings, where shown, come from visitors.

Money

Companies are not charged to be listed or to receive a grade. Some outbound links are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you buy after clicking. That does not change which providers are listed, what their write-ups say, or the grade they carry.

Suggestions and corrections

If a provider is missing, you can suggest it through the submission form. If a listing has a fact wrong, or a provider has published a new audit or changed its terms, send a note through the contact form. It is the only way to reach us.